What is Trump’s rationale in expanding the trade skirmishes? What, ultimately, is his end game? While Trump, as any human being, has many sides to him, his ideological inclinations need to be taken more seriously.

America’s surprisingly healthy demographics and abundance in guns and butter cannot sustain its global preeminence if virulent politics of resentment undo its constitutional order. Competition between China and the United States will ultimately be shaped by a clash for domestic political excellence.

As the U.S. and China exchange their first barrage of tariffs, it's worth examining the flawed logic that led the U.S. to begin this trade war. The reality is that the U.S. is not the paragon of a free market economy it presents itself as, and China is not as exploitative in trade as the Trump administration would suggest.